[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-grand-return-system":3,"chapter-grand-return-system-grand-return-system-chapter-4":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Grand Return System",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},1080174,1397,"Chapter 4: A Hand in the Dark","grand-return-system-chapter-4",4,"\u003Cp>A Hand in the Dark\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Frozen in place, Selena remained when others moved on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over one shoulder fell a curtain of silver-white hair. Her blue eyes, puffy from tears, held no light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She didn’t understand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why her?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why couldn’t any of the department leaders see something worth picking in her? What made her seem off to every one of them?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fingers clenched, turning knuckles pale. Like a sudden strike across the face, truth landed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Broken was the hope of growing powerful. Gone now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had no followers. Just the path ahead - years spent working at the school. Hauling buckets each morning. Swinging axes through frost-heavy logs. Scrubbing floors under dim lanterns. Perhaps, after seasons of silence, something like training could come... assuming she made it that far.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If nobody picked her...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her skill level turned out to be shockingly low.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A life such as that seemed barely within reach.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cold air settled in the space where warmth had been.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When sadness started to spread through her ribs -\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A shape in white came to a halt in front of her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stillness hangs in the air. A slow breath after darkness begins to fade. Light creeps forward, soft and low.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Selena’s heart jolted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her head began to lift, inch by inch. Then came a pause, just before the chin tilted up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A quiet figure stepped forward - the division’s youngest leader, someone few had heard speak before. Long strands of dark hair fell past his shoulders. His eyes, a soft violet hue, held something calm yet impossible to pin down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Quietly, his words arrived - calm, even. A hush carried each syllable forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Are you willing to take me as your teacher?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lightning struck - suddenly, there was hope.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I am willing. Student Selena greets Teacher...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Knees touched the ground before her head dipped low, a pause too long might draw attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There, where shame hung thick in the air, it was only because of Leon that she didn’t lose herself completely. One fragile string still tied her to pride - a single exit still unsealed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Should she choose to follow him, opportunity waited. A path opened only if she stepped onto it beside him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fury found its chance now. It could happen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though just a boy... though unaware of his strength... she still believed\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though he led a division, someone who taught at Celestis Academy saw him clearly. He stayed in charge, yet known first for teaching.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Right here, right then? Not later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Head tilted slightly, Leon looked down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Well. Come with me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Off he went, stepping away from the main hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Running close behind, breath tight in her chest, Selena froze as a sudden laugh - cold and sharp - snapped through the air just steps away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shera’s voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Haha. A trashy teacher took in a trashy student. What a powerful alliance. As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together. It’s a pity the thousand-year legacy of the Amethyst Summit Division will be ruined in the hands of these two mediocrities.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The words echoed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A heartbeat stopped in her chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A weight pressed into her ribs, thick with not knowing. Heat built beneath that, slow and quiet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Footsteps falling heavy on the path, Leon moved forward, silent, though the unrest at his back pressed close. Quiet tension followed each stride.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He paused then. Later on, silence took over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Selena almost walked right into his path. He stood still, just inches away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Teacher?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Out came the word, without thinking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A quiet look passed over his face as Leon shifted position. She met his gaze without speaking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You heard what they said just now. What do you think?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A pause caught her, air jagged between ribs, pain curling into something sharper. Not surrender. A quiet fire sparked where ache had pressed too long.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who gains by dragging their name through mud? Mocking without thought - what’s behind that ease?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t clear to her just how strong Leon could be. Still, one thing sat firm in her mind:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She stood alone, though everyone else walked away\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her voice steadied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Teacher, I don’t know any great principles. But I know one thing. A teacher for a day is like a father for life.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A quiet inhale filled her lungs, pressure building behind her eyes. The air caught in her chest, weight pressing down from within.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"When no one wanted me... you gave me hope. I will use my entire life to protect Teacher’s reputation. I will never shame Teacher - even if I am consigned to eternal damnation.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fragments of light broke the heavy gray. A quiet strength began where sorrow had settled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Teacher, don’t worry. I will work hard. One day, I will prove to them that Teacher is not mediocre. And I am not trash.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fists formed slowly, her fingers tightening, shaking yet steady.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A quiet weight lifted in Leon as he looked at her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mistakes weren’t what shaped his path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Down the hallway, maybe a stand was possible for those skilled - yet given how things sit now, defeat waits regardless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the group that remained, his pick came. He looked at faces held back by chance or choice, then settled on one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A person picked when everything had fallen apart... held thanks as if it were metal forged in fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything she’d hand over without a second thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He nodded lightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Very good. Let’s go.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Words stopped there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A shimmer ran along the blade as it materialized from his wrist movement. The sword sat there, quietly pulsing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hand in his, Leon walked beside Selena.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Footsteps lifted into open air when the blade surged upward, slicing through cloud cover on a path aimed at the far jagged ridges of the Amethyst Summit Division.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fate held tight to start and finish - yet what unfolded inside slipped free without warning. Quiet shifts rewrote the middle while eyes stayed fixed on edges.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each one gets their share. What matters goes to both.\u003C\u002Fp>",999,"2026-06-03T10:40:08.506Z","2026-06-03T10:40:16.814Z",1,"novelbin.me","5dfbed1e69f1488911a04e5b7278c047a482cb16bbcadeaa3c4d65395f8abb95","grand-return-system-chapter-5","grand-return-system-chapter-3",234,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fgrand-return-system-cover.jpg"]